Brainstorming Possibilities: Ripple Effect (s) of Virtual Conference 2011

Over a hundred years ago Ralph Waldo Emerson used the phrase, “concentric circles” to point out that our lives, deeds, and events affect our world. Today, we use “the ripple effect” as a similar metaphor. As we move into the second week of our online conference, we are beginning to look at how the conference presentations can affect our approaches to teaching and learning, mainly online, but concentrically in the physical classroom as well.  What will our syllabi contain in the fall (summer is already upon us) as a result of this conference?  How will interacting with students change?  What new or revised opportunities can we make for students to learn by experiences online?  What new or revised opportunities can we make for students to interact for learning from each other through Blackboard, strategies presented at this online conference or with a combination of these and various web 2.0 technologies not covered here?  How might our professional dialogues be affected by what we absorb these two weeks?  Last, but just as important, how will Institutional goals and objectives develop as a result of what we have learned?
 As one of my esteemed colleagues often says, “Let me know what you think.”
Barbara Glenn